Blog | Willo O'Brien | Inspiring Creative Sustainability in Life & Business

ReConnect – Special Summer Edition!

How’s your summer going?

Are you feeling on track with your ideas and projects?
How’s your connection with your Self, your body, and your space?
Are you craving inspiration, or a kickstart back into creative flow?
What do you want to create over the next few months?
What are you craving, missing, or wanting more of?

Not only is reconnecting with creativity and self-care one of my favorite topics, but I’ve run into many dear friends who have said they’re craving some grounding in this area, too. So, Mati & I have decided to put on a *Special Summer Edition* of our ReConnect eCourse!

This version is all of the great content of our 5-week ecourse, but at a sweet summer price!! Plus, because summer is often a busy time, as soon as the course kicks off you’ll have instant access to all 5 weeks; perfect for your summer jaunts on the go.You can peruse the content as slow or fast as you’d like… no need to feel like you’re falling behind or can’t keep up. It’s go at your own pace, but with some structure for those who like that kind of thing. ;) We have a few other lifestyle-loving bonuses on this run, too. Click here for all the juicy details →

Along with us sharing our experience and knowledge, the course features compassionate guidance from 7 other incredibly talented and inspiring contributors that have changed so many lives over this last year. But don’t take our word for it, visit our page of Praise for ReConnect to read all about it!

Now is the time to reconnect with yourself, finding your way back with compassion, and clarity. We hope to have you join us!

p.s. If you feel like sharing, we’d be most appreciative! Visit this Share page for easy tweets, Pinterest pins, and more. Thank you & hope this finds you having a wonderful summer!

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Mentoring at SXSW V2V in Vegas, baby!

I’m excited that I get to take part in two awesome, inaugural conferences happening in the burgeoning startup scene in Las Vegas!

First up is the first ever South by Southwest in Vegas, SXSW V2V! I’m one of the experienced mentors that attendees will have access to throughout the 4 jam-packed days. Sessions are available with me on Monday morning, starting at 10am. So curious to see how this goes!

If you’ll be there, book your session online now & let’s rap about creativity, self-care, culture and community, marketing, launching, iterating, kicking ass… life! I’m all about it.

I’ve only taken a peek at the schedule, but I’m super excited to see Scott Belsky of Behance/99U speak on Monday afternoon. Additionally, I have a number of other friends who have either moved there, work there part time and/or will also be speaking/mentoring at the conference… so this should be fun!

Come November, I’ll be flying back to Vegas to once again be a mentor at the awesome Women 2.0 Conference… this time it’s the Las Vegas Edition! I’ll do another post about that soon, but suffice to say I’m honored to lend my time to these awesome communities.

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Launching Your Ideas Into Reality

There is nothing like the liberating, exalted pride & joy that comes from giving birth to an idea. I mean, no doubt it’s a life-changing experience to actually birth a child into this world, but as a creative, my babies have always been in the form of new companies, and taking big bold leaps to launch my big ideas into this world.

As a Creative Business Consultant & Coach, I am a Doula for Hatching Ideas. My superpower is inspiration & implementation. (There’s also a great bit of refining/strategy geekery in between that glues it all together!) I love great ideas, but even more I love bringing ideas into reality!

Investment = Commitment

I’ve had the honor of working with ridiculously talented, successful, creative business owners, and while it humbles me every time, I’m proud to consider it one of my specialties. The reason for this is simple: whatever stage you’re at, I have been there.

Over the last decade I’ve launched several creative businesses, served as a co-founder for two successful startups, and helped thousands of people just like you through my one-on-one coaching & creative-business consulting, online courses and speaking events around the country.

Here’s what I know:

Change takes time. Not always, as sometimes small changes can make a big difference! But for the most part, I work with my clients a minimum of 3 months, and often 6 months or more, depending on the project and their needs. However, one of my superpowers? I work FAST. I know what needs to get done, and I get it done. When it’s the 9th hour and the site needs to go live, I’m like a whole team of Cinderella’s helpers, diving in there with you to magically get it done.
There’s never one solution to a problem. This is where it gets complicated, and if there’s anything you want to try to avoid in business it’s COMPLEXITY. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and sidetracked researching all the 1000′s of different options, ideas, and avenues. For weeks. Months. Years. Sound familiar? This is why we hire coaches/consultants, who have gone down this path before. I will support you in creating ease, focus and movement (aka save you time, money and anguish)!
“Unused creativity manifests as grief in our body.” ~Brené Brown Oof. I know that feeling. I also know the incredible, liberating, exalted pride & joy that comes from giving birth to an idea. Many people have no problem coming up with lots of great ideas, but when all those ideas just live in notebooks on your shelves, gathering dust, you’re not serving you or the world. This is why this work is just as much about taking big jumps as it is about Gathering the Courage. You can do this. We can do this together.
We need love & support. The investment you make in your self and your business is in direct correlation to how successful you will be. Just as a plant needs water and sunshine… we need love & support. It’s totally normal, and having an experienced, supportive coach will empower you to grow and blossom in ways you never thought possible.

Bottom line is I love doing this work. I love co-creating, collaborating and supporting individuals and teams to get their great ideas out into the world; to find more balance and supreme joy in their lives, and to start living – TRULY LIVING – knowing they are not alone, and they can create the lives and businesses they desire.

Are you ready to get your big ideas out into the world?

Would you like to move past your mean inner critic voices that are trying to convince you that you don’t have what it takes? Would you like support in clarifying the vision for your business or new product. Are you ready to take your life & business to the next level?
Let me know where you’re at, or schedule a complimentary consultation and let’s talk.

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The Joy of Work: What’s your Guiding Compass?

Do what you love + Do what comes easily to you + Get paid well for it = Sweet Spot

It continually amazes me to see how I’ve been able to transform the clients I was attracting into exactly the kind of clients I want to have AND be doing the work I’m passionate about.

I often describe my Coaching & Creative Business Consulting as the intersection where ‘Art meets Business meets Tech’. Given my experience as an artist myself – as well as my background in tech and entrepreneurship – I love empowering creative small business owners with the systems and structure to optimize and catalyze success.

Have you found your Sweet Spot?

What lights you up? What are you doing now that’s not really your strength, or you don’t enjoy doing. Are you feeling frustrated, stuck, or simply craving more in your life/business? What’s missing?

The venn diagram above may not even be the exact cross-section that drives you. What’s your guiding compass?

I’ve created a venn diagram for you to download/print and create your unique map to your sweet spot. This could be for your life, love, health or business! You can also create sweet venn diagrams online using Lucidchart. When you do, I’d love for you to share them with me. Post them on Twitter or Instagram and tag me @WilloLovesYou, so I can see!

Making it happen

Most likely if you’re reading this you already have a pretty good idea about this, but sometimes we need support in helping untangle old patterns, or simply to have someone outside of ourselves with the experience and know-how to help us take it to the next level. This is exactly what I do with my clients.

In addition to my Online Courses, here are my current offerings for Creative Entrepreneurs:

Ongoing Coaching & Consulting ~ One-on-One sessions
Harvest & Thrive ~ All my best thinking (so far) in one place!
Skydiving: Gathering the Courage to Take the Big Leap ~ 1-Day Power Session helping you get unstuck & launch your big idea!
Marketing & Social Strategy Packages ~ Perfect for those who need support in this area, and packages are affordable for independent business owners like you!

All of these have my ethos of Creative Sustainability threaded through, too, staying conscious of the integrity around your vision and self-care.

Life is too short, and you’re too awesome
to not be truly happy, healthy & doing what you love!

Would you like support in clarifying the vision for your business or new product? Are you ready to take your life & business to the next level? Let me know where you’re at, or schedule a complimentary consultation and let’s talk!

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YxYY 001: 400 people say YES!

Soooo… this weekend my friends and I are putting on an event with a few hundred of our closest friends. No big deal. ;)

Scroll down for a bunch of rad photos I’ve snapped in our first 24 hours here in Palm Springs… but first I want to fill you in on the fun story about how Yes by Yes Yes came to be.

How YxYY came to be
It all started back in February when we started chatting about who was going to SxSW, and so many of us weren’t, for the first time in several years. Actually, Hillary posted this on Path (which eventually turned into the longest Path thread ever!):

For me, this year was the first time in 8(!) consecutive years I didn’t go; which quite frankly was somewhat welcome, given that SXSW 2012 was such an amazing success for me, assembling & coordinating hundreds of geeks to stay at the SFEmbassy Austin, producing/hosting CraftMakerCamp SXSW – my 2-day conference within a conference – AND winning Best in Show for my startup. Quite the feat, but no better way than to go out with a bang like that one!

So, while I was happy to take a break from the madness this year, the one thing I knew I would miss was my favorite part: connecting and catching up with all of my amazing friends from around the globe!

Several of us chimed in with similar stories, and then Ann Larie shared with us that years ago, while sitting on the patio of the Hotel San Jose during SXSW 2008, she & some friends were dreaming of an event where it wasn’t all about the conference, and the keynotes, and the schedules that pull you every which way every hour of every day… but instead it was all about what we really look forward to at SXSW every year: spending quality time with our amazing friends and meeting new interesting, creative minds from all over the world. Everyone said yes, and she said, “we could call it Yes by Yes Yes.”

We all said YES, and wouldn’t you know it 400 other
awesome people did too, and here we are!

The 5 of us – Ann Larie Valentine, Amy Muller, Hillary Hartley, Deb Schultz & myself – actually held our first YxYY Team planning meeting here in SF on March 12th, while SXSW was happening in Austin. Shortly after tickets went on sale on April 3rd (yes, only 3 weeks after our first meeting), and we sold out in 48 hours. Huzzah!

So here we are, about 4 months later, and today – literally finishing up this post from registration – we’re checking in hundreds of incredible thinkers, artists, creatives & geeks from all over the globe who said YES!, and are descending upon Ace Hotel Palm Springs for our awesome weekend-long experiment!!

We rented out the entire Ace Hotel for the weekend!

Welcome, Yaysayers!

Ace Hotel’s ‘Desert Facial’

Yay, all of our boxes arrived! The work begins…

Hillary, Ann Larie & Willo Say YES!

First night prep – 400 totebags are successfully filled!

First dip in the pool. Check! First rad piece of attendee-contributed awesomeness. Check!

Our YxYY custom cocktails!

YxYY poster by Yiying Lu!

YxYY Drink tickets – thanks to our awesome sponsors!

Registration is open!

Me & Amy trying out the “Yes, Please” custom YxYY cocktail!

Check out more fun photos, tweets & posts happening live!

Feeling the LOVE
So, before I finish this post up, I have to say how completely and totally amazing it has been collaborating with my YxYY co-creators, Ann Larie Valentine, Amy Muller, Hillary Hartley & Deb Schultz. It’s been truly awe-inspiring to see how our combined skills and experience has made us a total power team!! We’ve each contributed in all of our own unique ways, and I have the utmost love and respect for each & every one of them. <3

For all of you with us this weekend: THANK YOU FOR SAYING YES! This weekend is going to be *amazing* and we’re so thrilled you’re here, bringing all of your awesome ideas & realizing this crazy dream with us.

If you’re just tuning in and this sounds phenomenal to you, and you wish you were here… first of all, ME TOO! Second, we just added a subscribe box to the YxYY website, so sign up there if you want to be notified of future yes.

OK, second wave of arrivals are flooding in, so signing off for now. Cheers!

UPDATE: Want to see more photos? Check out the YxYY Flickr stream, where we’ve been pulling in everything… so much awesomeYESness!

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There is great wisdom in not knowing

I’ll never forget celebrating my 23rd birthday, and feeling like I was completely starting over and knew nothing.

I certainly wasn’t starting over, as at the time I was living in a great flat, in my first stable salary job, and was working with masters, like SARK, Shakti Gawain & Dan Millman.

And while one can hear 23, and think, “oh, of course you felt like you knew nothing,” I had actually already experience a lot of life: Graduating HS early at 17, and moving away from home to go to art school in Denver. Subsequently dropping out of art school by 18, and living in my own one bedroom apartment in Denver. Moving to Boulder by the end of that summer, where I had a car stolen and stepped boldly onto my entrepreneurial path; starting a business with other crazy free spirits who were also hungry to make a difference in the world.

And by 20, moving by myself to LA with everything I owned packed in my little car, only knowing one person; where I lived for 4 months and worked and hiked and fell deeper into my body issues. Then on the weekend of my 21st birthday, moving to SF, again only knowing one person; staying with her at her parent’s house in San Mateo, until finally moving into my own closet of a room in a Bernal Heights flat for only $292/mo. And after that into a sweet flat on Polk & Union for $400/mo.

So by 22 I felt like I knew a bit. And yet crossing the line over to 23 I’ll never forget how I just felt totally new. Blank slate. Like a baby bird in the vast world. Not claiming to know what’s out there, how to fly, or how to fend for myself. How does anyone know?

Here’s a secret…

I still don’t know. And there are days, somethings weeks I feel totally lost. I get lost in a philosophical loop of what’s it all for? How is there time and money and love and wisdom sprinkled out so randomly a months all the humans?

And how it’s so interesting that around one person I feel so wise and like I’m a masterful communicator and totally on track. And with another I’m faced with the feeling that I’m a baby bird again. That I know nothing, and that I have an almost insurmountable mountain to learn, experience and create until I can even consider saying that I know.

And yet, if there’s one thing I’ve learned is there is great wisdom in not knowing.

There is great beauty in the vulnerability and humility of saying “I don’t know. Teach me. I am willing to learn.”

And it’s this that propels us forward.
We keep our eyes open.
Our hearts open.
Our ears.

We absorb.
We reflect.
We regurgitate and feed the hungry baby birds that cross our paths.

We feed and fly and try our best.

And I think in a way, as we get older, and have more responsibility and pressure to keep the flight path on track – to follow the map and have strength to chart new paths and blaze new trails – that it feels great to get lost.

Welcome, even.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

I wrote this piece during Wild Writing today; a writing group I have been a part of every Monday (minus a few weeks here & there) since September 2012. Every week Laurie reads us a poem, and we get a few lines to jump off from… and then we fast & furiously free-write.

This one was inspired by “The Ticking is the Bomb” by Nick Flynn

Photo Credit: Tambako the Jaguar via Compfight cc

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the little boat in my heart

Here’s one of today’s beautiful poems, “Self Portrait: Prayer at 37” by Dean Rader

I want to ask
for nothing

but the little boat
in my heart

lifts its anchor
and sets out:

by nothing
I mean everything:

the ocean
I float in

the life vest
just out of reach.

This inspired my piece below…

By nothing, I mean everything.

Being grateful. Accepting. Allowing. Being.
But secretly wishing, longing, hungry, scared, tired.

Dreaming big, making lists, reassuring myself with a plan.

Cheerleading myself. Listening whole-heartedly to those who reflect assuredness of my prowess and skill and worth. Not wanting to want more, but can I have a new car yet, please?

When will I stop spending money I don’t have? When will I be making more money than I’ll ever need?

I am grateful and satisfied… and at the same time want more. And that’s ok, too.

Our lives are full of paradoxes.

Full and happy.
Empty and longing.

We feast, we burn, we run, we hide… then we seek for more to feed on.

I am building boats in my heart big enough to sail vast oceans of love, and sprinkle the decks with laughter and joy, and always have the means to refresh my sails when the worn ones are looking tattered and tired.

Just as the sun has set many times before–and risen again with new light–this night will break with a dawn so bright that the glimmer from the dew, and sheen off the ocean’s surface, will fill the whole world with the deep memory that you really can have it all.

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Start a huge, foolish project

Written at Wild Writing last Monday, prior to launching my latest offering:
Skydiving: Gathering the Courage to Take the Big Jump

“Start a huge, foolish project, like Noah…it makes absolutely no difference what people think of you.” ― Rumi

Spill out. Recklessly spill and make a delightful mess of it. Like a Ouija board stirring the spirits. Stand tall, with arms open wide, and say YES! Sure! Let’s do this! Just experiment and see what happens!

Be a part of the exchanging flow.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.

Breathing out means focusing on taking action. Your breath in is the life force, but it’s the breathing out that makes it all worth it; sharing your creative gifts with the world. No holds barred. Diving in and getting lost in the flow. Losing hours, and going for it, like a child with reckless abandon. Like you don’t know any better. Why the hell not?

This week I’m launching my latest foolish project. Except I don’t know that it’s foolish just yet. I will find out. It’s exciting and scary, and I feel like it’s not ready or perfect or ‘enough’, or that I haven’t done enough to prepare. But maybe that’s the foolish part, so I’m on the right track, right? It’s about launching it anyway – right now – which is what I promote all the time. To feel the fear and do it anyway. Hell yes. It’s all a grand experiment that will lead to the next, and it’s out there. It’s me download and releasing this baby into the world, because it whispered it’s ready. And I’m listening and breathing in and breathing out and participating in the flow of life. Just by playing, I’m trusting it. Trusting the spark, the whisper, the call to share this with the world.

And the exciting part is, this isn’t the last one by far; I have a whole list of other things I’m ready to breathe out and share! This is, in fact, just the beginning.

There’s much to be celebrated, and one day I can’t wait to share even more about the strength and courage these years have taken. But for now I listen, I trust, and I breathe out.

And I thank you for taking witness to this time.

Related, highly recommended read: ‘Seeking Inspiration‘ by Derek Sivers

Are you ready to feel the fear, follow your heart & launch it anyway?
That’s my specialty… let’s do this!

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Ready to take your business to the next level?

If there’s one thing I’ve been good at in my career, it’s been making big leaps. Big, transformational, life-changing leaps, in creative, experimental ways. I’ve felt the fear, and followed my heart anyway… and it has been an amazing journey!

Are you standing on the precipice of your big jump?

Is there a big leap or a bold move that’s been nudging and knocking at your door? Do you feel like you could be doing more to leverage all that you’ve created thus far?

Then I think you’re going to like m y latest big bold leap!

[do action=”skydiving-video”]

This new offering is especially exciting for me, because it’s the work I’m most passionate about, and encompasses so many of my superpowers. :)

I help creative entrepreneurs get clear on their vision, launch their big ideas and take their businesses to the next level.

In doing so, I utilize my knowledge and experience as a Heart-Centered Coach, a Creative Business Consultant, and all my years of being a Web Designer/Developer (Tech Geek) and Social Marketing Strategist.

It feels SO amazing to have my work be in so in alignment with what I love doing! I want for everyone to feel this way, and this is what I help my clients with. Here’s why:

I believe we deserve to feel ALIVE in the work that we do.
I believe we deserve to have full permission to express ourselves
from our deepest truth.
I believe we all have important work within us, that needs to come forth;
and that by doing so, we’ll be serving the world in a bigger way.
I believe we all have a unique and brilliant offering to deliver into the world.

If you agree, please join me in celebrating my big launch today:

SKYDIVING ~ Gathering the Courage to Take the Big Jump
A 1-Day Power-Packed Session to help creative entrepreneurs
and passionate individuals bring their big ideas to life.

⇢ Send a Tweet + Share on Facebook ⇠

Thank you for all of your amazing support. May you follow your heart, live out your big dreams, and share your unique talent with the world!

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We were made to accomplish the easy things

“We were made to accomplish the easy
things and made to live through the things that are
hard.” ~ Charles Bukowski

We were made to accomplish the easy things.

There are a million little easy things that can eat up a day. This app has a number, check it. Clear it. Read it. Respond to it. Like it. Share it. Email it. Save it. Bookmark it. Make a note of it. Cross it off. Make a phonecall. Write it down. Make a mental note. Let it go. Talk it out. Pick it up. Put it away. Move it again. Water the plants. Take it off. Wave it away. Say hello. Kiss goodbye.

We were made to accomplish the easy things.

These things in our lives that challenge us like a game of bop the badger or whatever it’s called. We build blocks, and we knock them down. We build it again. We move it. We change it. We look at it. We like it. We hate it. We stop. We start again.

We were made to accomplish the easy things.

As I sit here, I hear the hum of the people in this cafe. I see the couple who just moved outside. Made a table their own. The petitioner outside saying hello. Wanting to talk. The guy who just threw his jacket on the chair to save it while he gets something to eat. The cars, taking a right. Stopping. Taking a left.

One foot in front of the other, we were made to accomplish the easy things.

I talk about this a lot – and have been holding it very consciously in this new/re-discovered chapter of my business: the importance of decomplexifying.

I feel like I have more control and awareness around this now. There aren’t necessarily a million things to do as there was before. And maybe that was my issue. I took on too much. I tried to do too much. I tried to do it all. I was being driven by ‘not good enough.’ And that not good enough meant I clearly wasn’t working hard enough. As trains move faster, do they need more coal? Or is there a centrifugal energy that actually enables them to require less coal as they propel themselves faster and faster down the tracks?

I have hit many times in my career that I’ve found myself working for hours. Working too hard. For too long. Perfectionism. Not knowing where to stop. Not prioritizing.

Stopping to do the admin work. Stepping back to recognize what’s the most important thing I need to be doing right now. What are my priorities right now, and what do I need to start working on right now in order to get where I want?

I feel like I’ve been doing great at this – but what does that mean to be doing great? What’s the measure for that? Who says so? What was the goal in the first place?

Setting goals and timelines is key.

We were made to accomplish the easy things, but with so many of these easy things in our lives, how often are we just on a hamster wheel, going from one thing to the next to the next, without any recognition of the path we are on, let alone the celebration of what we’ve accomplished thus far. This is important and crucial to our being conscious as we walk through this life.

Conscious choices.
Conscious steps.
Conscious accomplishment.

As an artist, it’s nice to be unconscious. It’s nice to roll through our lives in a flow, letting the current take us where it may. However, sometimes this can take us out to sea before we know it. And we must stay aware of the times when we we’re no longer steering our own ship. The current has us, and before we know it we’re wading in foreign waters. Having to paddle harder, and longer to find our way back to the bays where we live and the waterways we intended to take.

Feeling lost and coming home again is tied to how we are made to accomplish the easy things… and made to live through the things that are hard.

Originally written some time in February, 2013

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